Windbound

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 48
  3. Negative: 1 out of 48
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Sep 5, 2020
    45
    Even though some of you might find enjoyment in the survival element of this title, ridiculously slow loading times, progress, strangling repetition, unintuitive controls and a surprisingly annoying hunger indicator, made this author seek enjoyment elsewhere. No doubt there is quality here, but my hands were just too tired from digging to look for it any deeper.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 19
  3. Negative: 8 out of 19
  1. Penwooh
    Aug 29, 2020
    8
    I’m a couple of hours into Windbound and so far it’s really enjoyable. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, nor a top tier game, but it has anI’m a couple of hours into Windbound and so far it’s really enjoyable. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, nor a top tier game, but it has an intriguing story, nice soundtrack and rewarding gameplay. I’ve heard it can get repetitive but so far I don’t mind that because of the new crafting recipes I unlock fairly often. I recommend that you give it a try, perhaps when it is on sale for a slightly lower price.… Full Review »
  2. Redlightsaber13
    Aug 29, 2020
    4
    Windbound is a rogue like, third person survival game where your character, Kara starts of stranded on a small island. The story begins hereWindbound is a rogue like, third person survival game where your character, Kara starts of stranded on a small island. The story begins here as you progress from island to island (all procedurally generates) activating beacons before ultimately heading to your next set of islands.

    The story is okay and spans five chapters but failed to keep me interested past the second chapter.
    The rogue like mechanics in the game conflict with the open areas that kind of deter you from setting out on your crafted boa and exploring what the seas have to offer. Whilst this is generally the norm for rogue likes, I found myself feeling like it didn’t fit the style of the game. Whilst there is an easier difficulty the only real difference is either restarting from chapter one, or restarting from the chapter you’re currently on. You also keep all your items on the easier difficulty, compared to only keeping what is held on your person on the survivalist difficulty.

    The game looks pretty, clearly drawing inspiration from Breathe of the Wild, this translates to combat aswell, however it never felt as clean and smooth as you would expect.

    Sailing is disappointing until the later parts of the game once your boat has been upgraded and your used to the way you should be sailing, however it never felt rewarding enough.

    There are slight performance issues and occasional frame rate dips at time but that doesn’t takeaway from the experience too much.

    The only major bug I encountered was playing on story difficulty, for my second play through, but the game not registering that I was on story difficulty, therefore resetting all my progress upon death.

    Overall my experience with Windbound was not as great as I had hoped for this game.
    The repetitive nature combined with the rogue like elements don’t make exploring outside of the story path worth the risk.
    The combat isn’t as intuitive as it could of been and the game is definitely lacking polish.    … Full Review »
  3. Antibomb
    Sep 1, 2020
    2
    There are some things that this game does right, like the feeling of heading out on uncharted waters. But when everything around those fewThere are some things that this game does right, like the feeling of heading out on uncharted waters. But when everything around those few good moments is full of clunky movement, bad design choices and bugs, then it's really hard to forgive this game.

    The worst design choice is the difficulty setting this game wants to be played on. Having potentially hours of progress erased everytime you die is a really stupid decision in a game where there is so much trial and error. Also, when the overall gameplay is both tedious and unintuitive you get bored really fast if forced to repeat everything over and over again because of something stupid the game did.    … Full Review »
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